and the opportunity to break the fast promptly is also lost. Yet the worshipper is commanded to perform Maghrib and to do so promptly. If, when he considers it most likely that the sun has set, he is required to delay Maghrib until he is certain, he may delay it until the twilight disappears while still lacking certainty that the sun has set.

It is reported from Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī and other early scholars—and this is also the position of Abū Hanīfah—that, in overcast weather, they recommended delaying Maghrib, praying ‘Ishā’ early, delaying Zuhr, and praying ‘Asr early. Ahmad and others explicitly stated this as well. Some of his followers explained this as a precaution to ensure that the prayer time had begun. But that is not the case, for this runs contrary to such precaution regarding the times of ‘Asr and ‘Ishā’. Rather, this practice was prescribed because these prayers may be combined when there is a valid excuse, and overcast weather constitutes such an excuse. The first prayer in the pair is therefore delayed and the second brought forward for two benefits.

The first is to ease the burden on people, allowing them to perform the prayers on a single occasion because rain is feared, just as they are combined when it is raining. The second is to attain certainty that the time for Maghrib has begun. Zuhr and ‘Asr may likewise be combined according to the sounder of the two opinions, which is also one of the two reports from Ahmad. The two prayers may also be combined because of deep mud, a strong, cold wind, and similar conditions, according to the sounder of the two scholarly opinions. This is Mālik’s position and the sounder of the two opinions within Ahmad’s school.